Overview
- A peer‑reviewed Nature Astronomy paper reports that much of the Moon’s water ice accumulated gradually over geologic time rather than arriving in a single event.
- Researchers combined NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter temperature histories with ultraviolet signals from its LAMP instrument to pinpoint long‑lived “cold traps.”
- Older permanently shadowed regions—craters that never see sunlight—contain more exposed ice, with areas older than about 100 million years averaging roughly 3.4% exposed ice.
- The age‑linked pattern weakens the case for a lone comet impact as the main source of lunar water and keeps solar‑wind chemistry, many small impacts, or ancient volcanism in play.
- The findings guide resource scouting toward sites such as Haworth Crater and press for better measurements and samples, with NASA’s planned L‑CIRiS instrument in 2027 and recent ShadowCam imaging showing little high‑purity surface ice accessible at the surface.